A Sacramento Bee article discusses a California lawmaker's proposal to grant special parking privileges to women in the final three months of pregnancy and the first two months after birth.
The legislation would apply to more than a half-million women who give birth every year in California.
Assemblyman Chuck DeVore's bill would qualify pregnant women for "temporarily disabled" parking placards from the Department of Motor Vehicles.
I think it's telling that opponents of the proposal, Assembly Bill 1940, say pregnant women should be exercising as much as possible and that the legislation could reduce parking for motorists with more serious disabilities.
"We really want pregnant women to be active, to be moving, to be walking," said Shannon Smith-Crowley of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists' California chapter, which opposes AB 1940. A woman with complications from pregnancy that severely impair walking, or cause other serious health problems, can qualify for a temporary parking placard under existing law, she said.
What do you think?
No, I do not think pregnant women should get special parking spaces. That would take away from handicapped drivers who need the spaces. It is easier for a pregnant woman to get out of her car and walk than it is for a handicapped or wheelchair bound person to park (and have to take 2 or more spaces to get out of their car)and get to the store or office.
I have been pregnant twice and I never thought of asking for special parking. The excerise was good for me and the baby. I know it is hard to get the stroller out of the trunk, get the baby out of the car seat in the back seat,put the baby in the stroller,and then get on with your plans. But, moms, it can be done.
Issue the handicap parking pass to the baby. That is the human being who can't walk and has to be carried everywhere. Walking is usually good for pregnant women, but post partum is another story. Mother's need all the help they can get. What with carseats and diaper bags packed for survival, going anywhere with a baby is a huge undertaking. A handicap parking pass would only be fair, if we want to eliminate drive thrus.
Let them walk. Doctors in most all cases want them to walk for exercise while pregnant.